Kendrick Lamar: “The Heart Part 5” (Song Review)

        After more than 1,500 days without a lead song, Kendrick Lamar makes his return with “The Heart Part 5”, which is also a return to an older musical style. Unlike the more pop-sounding DAMN., or the trap based Black Panther soundtrack, “The Heart Part 5” is a mixture of jazz and funk that sounds like it could be a part of a To Pimp A Butterfly session. This change of sound should not be misconstrued as Lamar taking a step backwards. Dropping this single before his upcoming album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, serves as an introduction to a new era, getting listeners to think about the themes he presents shortly before going into his new full project.

        The themes discussed on “The Heart Part 5” are directly tied into its music video. This is not just a song, but an audio-visual experience. Lamar shines a light on the ugly side of Black culture and focuses on the different perspectives taking from iconic figures who are part of this culture. Watching the music video, and seeing Lamar uncannily change faces ties into the story he creates through his lyrics. The music video features a red background and Lamar rapping framed from the chest up. This is a simplistic scene filled with many layers of meaning. The video’s direct nature draws attention to Lamar’s words and also importantly, the shifting visuals from the deepfakes of O.J. Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle. Lamar speaks from the perspectives of these Black men, some famous some infamous, who are revered, reviled, supported, scorned, or some mix of these by the culture. Accompanying the shift of perspectives with the according faces of these celebrities helps with understanding the message Lamar delivers through “The Heart Part 5”.

        The second piece of important information that the music video conveys is on the very first frame. The white text that fills the black background presents a short quote: “I am. All of us”. This quote is attributed to oklama, an alias that Kendrick Lamar has been using to sign his messages for the past few months. Similar to his use of deepfake technology to make a shocking statement on perspective, Lamar asserts his identity as something more than just an individual. The thoughts and feelings of a group of people and multiple groups of people have been brought up by Lamar before and it seems like there will be a focus on these topics in the near future. It’s a nice insight into his state of mind and looking at the direction he’s choosing to follow.

        “The Heart Part 5” marks the start of a new era, one that looks extremely promising. As a big fan of Kendrick Lamar who has not been fully in love with his newer projects compared to earlier ones, this single has me excited. I’m looking forward to seeing Lamar’s vision getting brought to fruition and being able to delve into a new project by him.

Enjoyment: High 8

Critically: Low 9

Arbitrary Number: 9.2